Antares Nuclear Raises $470 Million in Series C for Military Base Micro Reactors

Micro nuclear reactor startup Antares Nuclear announced on Monday that it has completed a $470 million Series C funding round. The round was led by Paradigm and Caffeinated Capital, with participation from Industrious Ventures, Point72 Ventures, and Shine Capital. The funding comprises $370 million in equity and $100 million in debt. The proceeds will be used exclusively for developing small nuclear reactors for US military bases.

Antares is developing a modular micro reactor with a power output between 100 kilowatts and 1 megawatt, enough to power up to 750 homes. The reactor uses TRISO coated particle fuel, with uranium encased in a carbon and ceramic protective layer, about the size of a billiard ball, and can be cooled by helium or molten salt. On June 4 this year, Antares' technology demonstration reactor, Mark-0, achieved criticality at the Idaho National Laboratory in the United States.

With this technology, Antares has become one of the three finalists for the US Department of Defense's Base Advanced Nuclear Power program. The program plans to test small modular reactors at US Air Force bases in Colorado and Montana. According to the plan, Antares expects to bring its first power reactor online next year and officially deploy it at a US military base by 2028.

Besides Antares, X-energy raised $1 billion through an initial public offering in April this year, while Radiant Energy, Standard Nuclear, and Last Energy have each secured hundreds of millions of dollars in funding since December last year. Including the $96 million Series B round completed in December last year, Antares' total cumulative funding has reached $604 million.